How to Pack for a Long Weekend Trip

Don’t weigh yourself down with unnecessary things

I recently spent 4 days in France to visit friends and family.

I tend to be a bit of an over-packer. I struggle to decide what I’ll actually use on a trip and I tend to find myself with a number of things I never use in my suitcase.

However, for this trip, I couldn’t afford to overpack. I was not checking in a bag and I would have to spend significant amounts of time with all my stuff. I didn’t want to be lugging a suitcase around.

Here is what I learned from this experience:

Use a backpack

This is the mistake I keep on doing over and over again. Rather than using a backpack, which is not “cute”, I obstinate myself to using a bag that I have to carry on my arm or on one shoulder.

It seems like a good idea at the start of the trip when it feels like I’m carrying a normal bag but it rapidly becomes a problem.

This time, I brought a tote bag with all my stuff. All my stuff fit in it and it seemed fine when I was at home.

However, after spending the morning switching shoulders in hopes of getting comfortable, I really regretted my choice.

I don’t like carrying backpacks. Not only do I find that they don’t look good or natural, I’m also uncomfortable with carrying stuff on my back when I’m in a busy place.

But a backpack is definitely the smartest idea if you have to carry all your things around.

Put all your toiletries in a plastic bag

One of the difficult parts about traveling by plane with only a carry-on is that you are limited in how many liquids you can bring.

They need to be in bottles of less than 100mL and they need to fit in a sealed plastic bag.

Since I travel often, I have some travel-sized versions of most of my toiletries. For the ones I don’t, I either use different travel containers (which you can easily find online) or I go through my house to find a small container that will work.

Since I am limited in space, I make sure to bring the bare minimum. I do not need to travel with my whole skincare routine if I am just gone for a few days.

My toiletries are limited to: makeup remover and pads, sunscreen, a night cream, toothpaste (or toothpaste tabs like that they are not a liquid), my toothbrush, and my makeup essentials.

You might even need less if you do not wear any makeup.

Remove one item you packed… and then remove another one

When I pack, I usually lay out everything I intend to bring on my bed.

If you are a bit of an over-packer like me, at this stage, you should remove one item. Do you really need a second sweater? Do you need those pants you are bringing just because they are the only thing that go well with this t-shirt? In fact, do you actually need that t-shirt?

Once you have removed one item and feel like you couldn’t possibly remove anything else, remove one more thing.

You can, in fact, wear the same dress two nights in a row. You do not need two bathing suits because one of them looks cute but the other one is better for swimming. You have one pair of shoes that will go with all of your outfits.

Wear your heaviest items

On this trip, I brought a pair of jeans and a rain jacket. These are bulky and heavy items. Therefore, I wore them on the plane and on the day I had to carry my bag for a while.

That freed some space up in my bag and made it lighter.

If you have to bring hiking boots, wear them rather than having them take the whole space in your bag. You can more easily pack a pair of flip-flops or flats if you need a change of shoes.

The same applies to a heavy leather jacket or a bulky hat.

It will make a huge difference while you travel.

Bonus: pack two pairs of tights

This will definitely not apply to everyone but, if you are a person who wears tights, please learn from my mistake.

I had brought one dress on this trip as I was going to a wedding. I considered bringing two pairs of tights but decided against it at the last second.

Of course, as I got dressed in the morning, I ripped my tights. I thought it would be fine and left for the day.

It was not fine.

The rip grew… and grew… The more I tried to pull up on my tights to hide the hole, the worst I made the hole until I ripped the whole front of my tights.

I chose to remove them as I waited for stores to open (it was Sunday morning).

Eventually, I found a store and rushed to buy a pair of tights (at that point, I was late for my train). Since tight sizing is complicated, especially in another country, I bought tights two sizes two small, which I struggled to put on, and ripped them(despite getting the “unbreakable” ones — I’d like to have a discussion with whoever invented tights and made them so flimsy).

Long story short, my whole morning was ruined by a pair of tights and I spent the rest of the day very uncomfortable in a pair of too-small tights.

Tights don’t take up a lot of space. This is the one item you can afford to take more of than you might need.

When I’m packing, I always worry that I’m going to forget something.

However, when I’ve managed to pack light, I feel so much better. I don’t have to carry unnecessary weight around and I don’t have to dig through full bags to find the one item I do use.

Packing light is difficult so hopefully, these few tips help.